Apple fixes issue with iOS 4 and Exchange ActiveSync

Users of Apple’s new iPhone 4 phones or iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPod Touch users who upgraded to iOS 4 have been reporting issues synchronizing to Exchange Server using Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). The issue with Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 4, also results in additional load on Exchange Server, which may cause performance issues on Exchange 2010/2007 Client Access servers. The issue isn’t limited to iPhone connectivity to Exchange Servers, but also extends to Google’s Gmail service, which uses EAS to offer mobile email access.

iOS 4’s default timeout for EAS requests is set to a very low 30 seconds, causing the requests to timeout and resulting in additional requests being made by the iOS 4 device.

Apple has released a configuration update that fixes some of these issues. The Apple kb article states:

Immediately after updating to iOS 4, some users may notice that Exchange ActiveSync Mail, Contacts, or Calendars do not sync, or sync very slowly. In addition, some Exchange Server administrators may notice their servers running slowly.

The update increases the timeout for EAS requests made by iOS 4 devices. In particular, the update modifies the DefaultEASTaskTimeout parameter to 240.0 (240 seconds or 4 minutes). Config files are XML, so you can modify this value to what’s appropriate for your environment— although the 240-second timeout should work for most environments. If you feel it’s inadequate, please share your experience in the comments section.

Still not working for me either with the update. Does size of your e-mail account have anything to do with this? I can get my folders and can actually send e-mail from my phone – but I still can’t receive e-mails or see them in my inbox or other folders.

Exchange 2007 SP3 has a “Fix” that stops Apple Mail from accessing my work Exchange account. Apparently Apple Mail could immitate OWA access, but now this is considered a security risk and has been fixed so I can no longer use my iMAC. Cheers !